UFOs and Hessdalen; the history, and current status

The "UFO wave" in Hessdalen (which was not limited to Hessdalen, but covered the entire Gauldalen valley area in to Trondheim, Støren, Soknedal, Oppdal and Røros, etc.) began in December 1981. There are reports before this time - but the mass observations began then. That was also when the phenomenon was made publicly known.

Initially it was mostly locals that gathered on Aspåskjølen, a lookout point north in the valley, but gradually rumors spread, and people came from Ålen, Røros - and eventually Trondheim, and the whole country. There could be dozens of cars gathered every night on Aspåskjølen to look for the UFOs in the winter of 1982 and 1983. At its most intense, 20-30 observations were reported a week - and that was just what was reported / what the organization " UFO-Norway ” (and Project Hessdalen) was able to track.

(Lookout point Aspåskjølen)

And what was people reporting? Mainly, there were lights in the sky in different shapes, sizes and colors - which sometimes carried out maneuvers that excluded planets / stars / planes / helicopters / satellites, etc. When brave Hessdalen residents reported daytime observations, describing vehicles resembling classic UFO sightings, they faced opposition. They were ridiculed, and blamed for everything from extensive alcohol abuse, to visual hallucinations - as a result of inbreeding!

A signature campaign was created among the residents during this period, requiring the authorities to initiate investigations, and the list of signatures was handed to the local police department in Holtålen. The answer was that "they could do nothing, because the UFOs had not done anything criminal ..." The norwegian military defense was also contacted - without luck. Among the inhabitants of the village, an opportunity was discussed during the period to possibly shoot down an object on private initiative! This tells a little about the seriousness and the desperation.

Although public authorities did nothing, fortunately a group of enthusiasts decided to launch a private project: "Project Hessdalen". Partial support was received from norwegian universities, as well as the Defense Research Institute. Radar, magnetometer, spectrum analyzer, geiger counter, etc., was borrowed, and in the winter of 1984, a one month long field action in January / February was conducted, - with, among other things, observers on mountain peaks around the valley. A number of registrations were made, including on radar. One did not succeed in finding out what the phenomenon was (and is), but once and for all one could kill all star / planetary theories, airplane / satellite and helicopter theories, - as well as bluffs and hallucinations.

(Project Hessdalens head quarter in the1985 field action)

Similar field action was attempted in the winter the following year, but ended somewhat in  evacuation and rescue action due to bad weather. The Hessdalen mountains by winter are not a joke in that way.

After 1985 there were fewer reports. It is somewhat unclear how much that fact is due to a decrease in observations, or how much was due to residents quitting to report due to ridicule. In journalist Tore Strømøy's radio documentary on NRK (norwegian national broadcasting) in 1990, for example it was stated that Hessdalen residents collectively decided to "keep quiet" because of all the ridicule.

In 1993, Erling Strand was back in Hessdalen to inform about the data analysis from the project in 1984. In conversation with several of the valley's residents, it was revealed that the observations did not stop after 1985. On this basis, Strand decided to restart the project, and in 1994 the Project Hessdalen Workshop was held at the Hessdalen community center with the participation of prominent researchers from all over the world - including Russian Boris Smirnov, Nobel Prize candidate in physics.

In 1998, Strand set up an automatic measuring station in Vårhuslia hill, northeast in Hessdalen, - “Blue box” - a container equipped with alarm camera and software set to respond to light, - as well as other instruments - such as radar, magnetometer, geiger counter etc. The Blue Box also has two cameras that stream Hessdalen live on the internet 24/7 to interested people around the world.

(Head of Project Hessdalen: Siv. ing. Erling Strand)

Among the participants in the workshop in 1994, was also the Italian astrophysicist Massimo Teodorani, leader of Project Embla who conducted three field studies in Hessdalen in the early 2000s. The Embla team came up with interesting conclusions: In a series of published articles, Teodorani explains that the majority of Hessdals phenomenology is about light with a probable geophysical origin (according to the EMBLA-team). But in addition to these, there exists in Hessdalen a small, but significant, minority of structured objects! Teodorani speculates, among other things, whether Hessdalen is designated as site for military experiments with "exotic technology".

 

(Head of the EMBLA missions in the 2000s: Dr. Massimo Teodorani)

Since 2007, Østfold University College has organized “Science camp” in Hessdalen. During these two weeks in September (also in March / April in recent years), many researchers and students monitor the valley with instruments and keep tent bases on several of the mountain tops in the area. In addition to the "Blue Box" at Vårhus, a permanent measuring station, "White Box", has also been set up with opportunities for manning the Skarvan mountain south in the valley.

(Erling Strand and myself in front of the White Box during Science Camp, October 2019).

In the summer of 2007, it was widely reported in the media that the riddle in Hessdalen was resolved. In NRK's ​​"summer open" program, an employee at Østfold University College, who is also involved in Science Camp and associated with the research projects concerning Hessdalen, was interviewed - where he launched a theory about what was happening. Easily said; it was dust from the ground in Hessdalen that was ignited and, through a combustion process, caused light. These lights moved around in the valley with the wind.

In retrospect, they demented that they had any solution to the phenomena. On the contrary, it was emphasized that conflicting data had been obtained, that the phenomena were more complex than expected, and that one might be further away from a solution than ever. Still, it may seem that parts of the opinion are left with the impression that the riddle is resolved, and if you google UFO + Hessdalen, Addresseavisen's (Trondheim newspaper) 2007 article with the headline "UFO mystery solved in Hessdalen" comes up as the first hit.

Another proposed theory goes with Radon - a radioactive element - which is often found in Scandinavian granite. If Radon is exposed to dust in the atmosphere, the waste products can ionize the air and produce "macroscopic Coulomb crystals". The theory was launched by Pavia and Taft.

However, it is unclear how the phenomenon / light can move towards the wind direction.

The aforementioned Massimo Teodorani has - among other things - proposed piezoelectric effects to explain phenomena in Hessdalen. If quartz is exposed to tectonic stress, electricity is generated, which can be amplified by the presence of iron and copper.

However, the energy produced during this process appears to be too weak to explain the strength of the lights.

Italian Jader Monari is one of the latest to launch a hypothesis; Hessdalen as a giant, natural battery. Hessdalen can roughly be subdivided into the eastern side where copper is the dominant mineral and the western side is dominated by iron and zinc. Furthermore, sulfuric acid leaks from a closed mine into the river that flows through the valley, and is believed to function as an electrolyte - so that the valley can theoretically form a kind of natural giant battery.

 
However, the theory is not able to explain why the lights are also seen in the Øyungen area and also high up in the sky. Nor is it able to explain the different properties of the phenomena.

Monari also admits that the theory only deals with light in different forms. Observations of structured, craft-like UFOs have not been attempted to be explained with this hypothesis. Monari may seem to assume that light and structured objects are two separate things.

(Daytime picture taken by french Pierre Beake in 2015, - Lake Øyungen, Hessdalen).

Other people involved also seem to think the same; For example, Erling Strand has stated that there is so much different seen in Hessdalen:

"We get conflicting data, says Strand. Some data point in one direction, while other data point in the opposite direction. It is hard to imagine that all this should be part of the same phenomenon."

The above-mentioned Teodorani speculates in several articles whether light and structured objects are two separate phenomena that for some reason appear to exist in parallel in Hessdalen, or whether it is the same phenomenon observed at different physical stages.

(Daytime picture taken by french Pierre Beake in 2018, - Lake Øyungen, Hessdalen).

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The majority of all reports are about "lights" in the sky in Hessdalen. A small minority of reports describe crafts, objects and vehicles. (In addition, you have reports in the middle that describe objects shrouded in intense light). Mainly, there are three theories that apply:

1: This is a hitherto unknown natural phenomenon - probably of geophysical origin linked to the bedrock in Hessdalen.

2: This is testing and secret experiments with exotic technology - possibly led by NATO.

3: This is "visitation" - in one form or another.

It is possible that point 1 is correct, but this hypothesis may not be correct alone - which now seems to be consensus among researchers as well. In recent years, several of the researchers involved have argued that there may be two (or more) phenomena that co-exist in Hessdalen. Alternatively, there may be one and the same phenomenon that occurs across different physical stages.

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In 2019 I published a book about Hessdalen that dealt with the history, the research programs and my own experiences with the phenomena. I am now in the finishing process of a new book, where I present my own theories and considerations to a greater extent.